Poultry shears?

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We have a pair of Camillus game shears that we found at Tractor Supply. Around $12 or so.
Had them about six months and so far, no troubles.
Being a lefty, the handles on these shears is more comfortable to me than any other shears I have had, except, of course, for the left handed scissors I bought a number of years ago.
 
We have a pair of Camillus game shears that we found at Tractor Supply. Around $12 or so.
Had them about six months and so far, no troubles.
Being a lefty, the handles on these shears is more comfortable to me than any other shears I have had, except, of course, for the left handed scissors I bought a number of years ago.

Camillus Cutlery used to be made about 15 miles from my home. The company made knives and cutlery from about 1894 - 2007. The Camillus name was purchased by a company called Acme United, no connection to Wile E. Coyote or his buddy the Road Runner. :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
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Camillus Cutlery used to be made about 15 miles from my home. The company made knives and cutlery from about 1894 - 2007. The Camillus name was purchased by a company called Acme United, no connection to Wile E. Coyote or his buddy the Road Runner. :ermm::ohmy::LOL:

We have a little town, near Traverse City, MI., called Acme, again, I haven't seen old W.E Coyote, Road Runner, or much desert land around there. However, maybe they sent the various gizmos to Wile E.:LOL:

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
i have a pair of Henckle scissors I use for things like this (and a bunch of other things).

Are you saying I could get some sort of specialized thing to do it? Sweet... something new for the kitchen!

I've been using a set of Dexter Russel kitchen shears for cutting up chicken, but I really like poultry shears because their design often gives you more leverage making the cutting easier, it was a perfect excuse to add poultry shears to my collection!
 
I agree if you cut birds up, you need poultry shears, sure you can get regualr kitchen shears to do it, but its dangerous if you are capable of putting a lot of pressure on them, they can open up, snap, slip, etc... With poultry shears you can really press them and not have much trouble going through bone.

I have put off buying a set, hopefully mine come soon, I am going to cut up a few chickens the day them come, I but wholes, and cut them, breast, leg, wing, thigh... Also when I debone turkeys, you need a good shear.

this is my chicken stuffed turkey
img_1408261_0_989be204c52be6a5868949142f5ab4f6.jpg


here it is all stiched back up...
img_1408261_1_9086e3ef73ee478e866542998a615a1b.jpg
 
I've been using a set of Dexter Russel kitchen shears for cutting up chicken, but I really like poultry shears because their design often gives you more leverage making the cutting easier, it was a perfect excuse to add poultry shears to my collection!


Ok.. so I might now have an excuse to make the purchase.

I agree if you cut birds up, you need poultry shears, sure you can get regualr kitchen shears to do it, but its dangerous if you are capable of putting a lot of pressure on them, they can open up, snap, slip, etc... With poultry shears you can really press them and not have much trouble going through bone.

I have never had any troubles with my kitchen scissors and cutting birds. I wouldn't describe it as dangerous at all.
 
Ok.. so I might now have an excuse to make the purchase.



I have never had any troubles with my kitchen scissors and cutting birds. I wouldn't describe it as dangerous at all.



I kind of agree with this, but then I almost exclusively use a knife for dismembering a chicken. I'll use shears to remove the breastbone for spatchcocking, but I find a good knife to be more effective in cutting through joints.
 
Ok.. so I might now have an excuse to make the purchase.



I have never had any troubles with my kitchen scissors and cutting birds. I wouldn't describe it as dangerous at all.

Thats why it says master chef under your name, :yum: lol

What happened to me was I squeeze them too hard and the shears open up, meaning the gap between the blades spreads and all the force I am squeezing with is transferred in an actual direction vs to cut the bone... Granted I am obviously trying to cut bones larger than the utility tool I have is made to cut.

In the picture above that is a free range 38lb turkey {bought from ekonk turkey farm in CT, amazing birds they sell, I buy a lot of turkey from them, super nice people too...} when I debone a bird like that its hard on shears and squeezing hard with a normal set of shears that have loops and not open levers, has not proven to end well. Sure the 15lb chicken inside it debones easily, I can use my wifes sewing scissors to do that, but with the big birds its tougher than it looks..

I actually ordered a few sets so I will test them all out, I have 4- 40lb turkeys in the deep freeze that I got an awesome deal on after thanksgiving, so what I do is 1 at a time as I need them, I defrost one, debone, then brine and prep the meat. I cut the 2 breasts and roast them separate, then I process the rest {forming into loaf pans} for slicing..

I like the white breast meat sliced, but my kids like the dark meat loaves I make. A 40lb turkey will make A LOT of slicing turkey for sandwiches, and its all natural not salty preservative laced meats...

BUT ANYWAY, so you can see I put the shears through their paces, granted when I do my chicken stuffed turkeys they have to be perfect because its for entertaining and cooked whole, but when I do the slicing turkeys its less detrimental so I will use the band saw for the larger bones, but the shears still get a workout...
I also have pretty big hands so I may be a little harder on the shears than most cooks are. Having a plastic handled snap off and embed itself into my palm again doesn't sound super attractive to me.. I also may be using them in the wrong manner, which does not help the situation...:neutral:
 
I kind of agree with this, but then I almost exclusively use a knife for dismembering a chicken. I'll use shears to remove the breastbone for spatchcocking, but I find a good knife to be more effective in cutting through joints.

Yes, you are correct, a knife is a great tool too. 80% of the deboning is done with a knife, buts I am much more efficient with a shear when cutting up a chicken, not sure why...

And I always remove the back bone when I spatchcock a bird, do you have pics of how you do it? I have seen some people do it different, what they call spatchcocking is dissassembling and cutting strips into the breast? I always like to learn new ways, I cut out the backbone {with shears} then flip it and splay it, then the last step is just press down to dislocate everything, normally just one hard pop...
 
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Yes, you are correct, a knife is a great tool too. 80% of the deboning is done with a knife, buts I am much more efficient with a shear when cutting up a chicken, not sure why...

And I always remove the back bone when I spatchcock a bird, do you have pics of how you do it? I have seen some people do it different, what they call spatchcocking is dissassembling and cutting strips into the breast? I always like to learn new ways, I cut out the backbone {with shears} then flip it and splay it, then the last step is just press down to dislocate everything, normally just one hard pop...

You're right, I misspoke. It's the backbone that I remove. I'd just gotten off the treadmill and I was lightheaded :wacko:

Anyway, all it entails is cutting through the ribs, which is pretty easy with a chicken.

When I'd order any sort of meat dish where we lived on Long Island, Bahamas, it almost always came with some sort of bones, because they mostly cut the meat for jerk and curry and stew with a cleaver - no worries about locating the joints. I loved the jerk wild pork and curry mutton (goat) that they served at Max's Conch Bar, but you had to be willing to work through a lot of little bones. It was well worth the effort though.
 
What happened to me was I squeeze them too hard and the shears open up, meaning the gap between the blades spreads and all the force I am squeezing with is transferred in an actual direction vs to cut the bone... Granted I am obviously trying to cut bones larger than the utility tool I have is made to cut.


That pretty much sums it up.

There is tool use and tool abuse.

Use is dangerous but common sense helps mitigate that danger.

Abuse is always dangerous and shows common sense has gone out the window. ;)
 
That pretty much sums it up.

There is tool use and tool abuse.

Use is dangerous but common sense helps mitigate that danger.

Abuse is always dangerous and shows common sense has gone out the window. ;)

wow well thats one way to look at it, very helpful thanks for the post... ;)
 
Thats why it says master chef under your name, :yum: lol

Naw.. that's cause I post too much...

What happened to me was I squeeze them too hard and the shears open up, meaning the gap between the blades spreads and all the force I am squeezing with is transferred in an actual direction vs to cut the bone... Granted I am obviously trying to cut bones larger than the utility tool I have is made to cut.

Yes, using a tool outside its specifications or using the wrong tool can be dangerous. Using a screw driver as a chisel, for instance, is dangerous (and drives be crazy when I see people doing it). I don't cut things I shouldn't be with the tool I am using. If I had to cut a large solid bone I am not sure what I would do, though I might get a new hacksaw blade or something.
 
Naw.. that's cause I post too much...



Yes, using a tool outside its specifications or using the wrong tool can be dangerous. Using a screw driver as a chisel, for instance, is dangerous (and drives be crazy when I see people doing it). I don't cut things I shouldn't be with the tool I am using. If I had to cut a large solid bone I am not sure what I would do, though I might get a new hacksaw blade or something.

I think the bones I cut are right on the line between needing a saw and a really good shear. I can not picture the ones I just bought opening up, and I am not going to be able to break the handles, so I think they will work. I have a band saw, but it makes a mess with poultry, and I tend to only use it either when I am dressing a deer or buy a large primal beef cut...

Hopefully tthese shears get here soon so i can try them out..
 
Not sure any shears could cut through the leg bones of a 40 lb turkey!
 
wow well thats one way to look at it, very helpful thanks for the post... ;)

I use tools everyday that can remove a digit in an instant.
I also see folks use these same tools in a way that endangers these digits.
I like having 10 fingers but life experiences have shown me that many people aren't that worried about it and take risks due to ignorance or economics. Just the way it is.

Risk is in the eye of the beholder. Tool use is inexpensive yet tool abuse always costs more in the long run.
 
I have a dear friend who has managed to remove two said digits a few years apart with a table saw and a band saw. He has a PhD. We do refer to him as the absent minded professor. Another friend recently lost a finger due to an accident with an industrial electric drain snake.
 
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I have several kitchen scissors/shears. One was my mom's that come apart for a good cleaning.

I also love these:
Steven Raichlen Meat Shears I use them to split cooked Cornish hens in half and cooked chicken.
 

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